Thag 16:4 Raṭṭhapṅla

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('â', Oh woe, our loved one is dead,â they cry. Carrying him off, wrapped in a piece of cloth, they place him on a pyre, then set him on fire. So he burns, poked with sticks, in just one piece of cloth, leaving all his possessions behind. They are not shelters for one who has died— not relatives, friends, or companions. Heirs take over his wealth, while the being goes on, in line with his kamma. No wealth at all follows the dead one— not children, wives, dominion, or riches. Long life canât be gotten with wealth, nor aging warded off with treasure. The wise say this life is next to nothing— impermanent, subject to change. The rich & the poor touch the touch of Death. The foolish & wise are touched by it, too. But while fools lie as if slain by their folly, the wise donât tremble when touched by the touch. Thus the discernment by which one attains to mastery, is better than wealth— for those who havenât reached mastery go from existence to existence, out of delusion, doing bad deeds. One goes to a womb & to the next world, falling into the wandering on —one thing after another— while those of weak discernment, trusting in one, also go to a womb & to the next world. Just as an evil thief caught at the break-in is destroyed by his own act, so evil people —after dying, in the next world— are destroyed by their own acts. Sensual pleasures— variegated, enticing, sweet— in various ways disturb the mind. Seeing the drawbacks in sensual objects: thatâs why, O king, I went forth. Just like fruits, people fall —young & old— at the break-up of the body. Knowing this, O king, I went forth. The contemplative life is better for sure.3 * * * Out of conviction, I went forth equipped with the Victorâs message. Blameless4 was my going-forth: Debtless I eat my food. Seeing sensuality as burning, gold as a knife, pain in the entry into the womb & great danger in hells— seeing this peril, I was then dismayed— pierced (with dismay), then calmed on attaining the end of the effluents. The Teacher has been served by me; the Awakened Oneâs bidding, done; the heavy load,       laid down; the guide to becoming,5   uprooted. And the goal for which I went forth from home life into homelessness Iâve reached: the end of all fetters. Notes 1. This verse = Dhp 147. 2. This verse is not contained in MN 82. 3. The verses in MN 82 end here. 4. Avajjṅ. The Burmese and Sinhalese editions of the Pali Canon read avaā±jhṅ, or "not barren." 5. The guide to becoming is craving. - --> - - - -